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Training and Development Policy Wiki

Page History: Federally Mandated Training

Page Revision: 9/11/2013 2:22:29 PM

Federally Mandated Training

Federally Mandated Training, is defined on the Standard Form (SF) 182 (Authorization, Agreement and Certification of Training) as “mandatory training for all employees Governmentwide,” or in some cases, groups of employees across Federal agencies and departments.

Many agencies have their own required training. However unlike Federally mandated training, this type of training is not mandated by Federal statute for all Federal employees. Agency Required Training as defined on the SF 182 is “required by the agency and provided to Federal employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the Agency as needed.” Employees should contact their agency human resource office to determine which training is required for their particular agency.

Mandatory Training for All Federal Employees

No FEAR Act

Legal Citation: 5 CFR 724.203
Frequency: On a training cycle of no longer than every 2 years

Agencies are required to develop training on the rights and remedies applicable to agency employees regarding antidiscrimination laws and whistleblower protection laws. For more information on No Fear Act training, go to http://www.eeoc.gov/

Nuclear Regulatory Commission developed an online course designed to education its employees on the No Fear Act. Here is the source code and the EHRI data fields. You must download the zip files to your computer before you can upload the code to your LMS. The first version was designed to be run within an LMS. The second version ("mock API") was designed to run as a stand-alone course, such as on a CD.

Ethics Awareness
Legal Citation: 5 CFR 2638.705Frequency: AnnuallyAgencies must also provide new employees with a minimum of one hour of duty time to either review the ethics materials stated in 5 CFR 2638.703 or receive ethics training, within 90 days of their entrance on duty. In addition, agencies are required to provide annual ethics training to employees identified in the regulation, such as political appointees and contracting officers. For more information on ethics awareness, go to http://www.usoge.gov/

Agencies are required to develop a plan for Federal information systems security awareness and training. Agencies must also provide initial, continuing, and refresher training at the awareness level, policy level, implementation level and performance level for executives, program and functional managers, information resources managers, security and audit personnel, automated data processing management, operations, and programming staff, and end users. The importance of computer security to the agency, employees' role and responsibility in computer security, and basic agency computer security policies and procedures is a part of the periodic computer security training required by the Computer Security Act of 1987.

Agencies are required to provide new agency employees with education and training materials concerning the United States Constitution and provide, annually, education and training materials to all employees (Section 111 of Title I, Division J, of the Fiscal Year 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 108-447), enacted into law on December 8, 2004). These agencies below have shared their online courses to help other agencies meet this requirement: http://www.opm.gov/constitution_initiative/. Note: Employees are not required to take Constitution Day training. Agencies are required annually to provide materials on the Constitution to all employees.

Department of Defense: The Department of Defense (DoD) developed a website and online course on the U.S. Constitution to assist DoD employees learn about the Constitution. The website contains the course, videos from Supreme Court Justices, and other Constitution and Citizenship resources. Federal employees and the general public may view the website and take the course.

Performance ManagementLegal Citation:5 CFR 430.209(c)
Frequency: There is no time-frame specified, however, it is recommended agencies communicate the features and results of agency performance management system annually to employees and their supervisors.

Agencies are required to communicate (e.g. through formal training) the relevant parts of their performance appraisal system.

Occupational Health and SafetyLegal Citation: 29 CFR 1960.59(a)
Frequency: There is no time frame specified.

Agencies are required to provide appropriate health and safety training to employees, including specialized job safety and health training appropriate to work performed by the employee. Training should inform employees of the agency’s health and safety programs. For more information on occupational health and safety training, go to http://www.osha.gov/dte/index.html.

Plain Writing ActLegal Citation:Public Law 111-274
Frequency: The deadline for implementing training to agency employees was July 13, 2011, but there is no other specified time frame for this training.

Agencies are required to provide training in plain writing to agency employees. Agencies should design a plan to determine which employees would benefit the most from this training, and provide training to new employees. Senior officials are responsible for overseeing their agency’s implementation of this training to employees, and establish a process for the agency to oversee its ongoing compliance with the Act’s requirements. For more information on plain language training, go to http://www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm.

The Social Security Administration developed a course consisting of Videos on Demand to meet this requirement. The course consists of a short video. Below are links to two formats to the video; the first is a Windows Media version that you can watch on your personal computer, the second is a Flash version that you can use to embed on a website (similar to videos on YouTube). Both versions include closed captioning. You must download the zip files to your computer before uploading to your agency's LMS.

The Department of the Army training module, aimed at "Action Officers"... "Action officers shape information and submit recommendations to senior decision makers, that when approved become decisions. To do this successfully, action officers must be proficient writers; they author documents that often have impact Army-wide." Self-paced instruction consists of 11 lessons and 5 appendices that cover staff processes and communication skills, including writing. Enrollment is available to all federal employees and members of the armed forces.http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/take_training/actionoff.pdf

The National Institutes of Health offers a free plain language internet-based training that introduces you to the basics of plain language. It's not just for medical folks. The goal of this training is to help you learn to organize your ideas, use a clear writing style, and become a more effective communicator.http://plainlanguage.nih.gov/CBTs/PlainLanguage/login.asp

Mandatory Training for Specific Groups of Employees

Note: Employees may fall under more than one of the groups listed below.

For Supervisors, Managers, and Executives:On September 12, 2006, OPM released a Guidelines for Managerial Development Memorandum to ensure the ongoing leadership capacity of the Federal workforce, and assist agencies in meeting several managerial development objectives focused on Governmentwide leadership. 5 CFR 412 requires agencies to systematically develop executives, managers, supervisors, and candidates for these positions. Agency programs must provide for: Initial training for incumbents based on the results of needs assessments, Continuing learning experiences, so that the individual may achieve the mastery level of proficiency for his or her current management level and position, and Systematic development of candidates for higher management levels, including any OPM-approved formal SESCDPs.

Initial and Ongoing Supervisory Training (5 U.S.C. 4121, Initial supervisory training within one year of a new supervisor’s appointment; ongoing supervisory training at least once every three years): Agencies are required to provide training to develop supervisors and managers as part of a comprehensive management succession program.

Occupational Safety and Health Training for Supervisors(29 CFR 1960.55, No timeframe specified): Agencies must provide occupational health and safety training for supervisors focusing on supervisory responsibilities for providing and maintaining safe and healthful working conditions for employees. For more information on occupational health and safety training for supervisors, go to http://www.osha.gov/dte/index.html

For Veterans:

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)(38 U.S.C. 4335(As enacted by Pub. Law 103-353, October 13, 1994), Recommended annually pending final regulation): Agencies must provide training to human resources personnel on items including rights, benefits, and obligations of members of the uniformed services. For more information on USERRA, go tohttp://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/

Veteran Employment Training for Federal Hiring Managers & HR Professionals(Executive Order 13518, Annually): Agencies must provide training to hiring managers and human resources personnel concerning veterans’ employment, including training on veterans’ preferences and special authorities for the hiring of veterans. Free training is available on HR University: http://hru.gov/course_catalog.aspx

For Government Contractors:
(5 CFR 930.301(1), time frame is specific to training type)

If contractors use Government computers, they must complete agency-sponsored IT Security Awareness training. Other Federally mandated training courses are voluntary for contractors unless there is language in their contracts that requires them to complete these courses.

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